


trade your baseball cap for a crown

by ohheyjess



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, food metaphors for relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 18:48:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4575717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohheyjess/pseuds/ohheyjess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't know, Nialler, maybe we can just go with each other?" he says around a mouthful of meatball. It should be gross but, like, Niall mostly just wants to lick the sauce out of his mouth. Stop, Niall. Stop thinking about his mouth and focus on the question. </p><p>Or the one where Niall and Liam go to prom together and they're both very oblivious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	trade your baseball cap for a crown

**Author's Note:**

> I blame this entirely on this one blog on tumblr who tags their niam stuff as "otp: prom kings" and sierra for helping me discover that niam is, in fact, spaghetti and meatballs. This was mostly just for fun because I love niam so much and wanted a prom kings au. This is the first ever fic i've written in my whole life so I'm sorry. The title is from Taylor Swift's Long Live (even tho no one even plays baseball in the fic but like real life niall wears snapbacks so it’s fine?????) because that song is 100% about one direction and how much they love each other, so. Um. Enjoy?????? 
> 
> Oh and you can find me on tumblr @ ohheyjess :)  
> come talk to me about one direction because i clearly don't talk about them enough on my own.
> 
> thank you!!!!!

It starts with a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. 

All 5 of them are out for dinner, something that rarely happens now because Liam and Niall are usually so busy with football, Harry and Louis are so busy with each other, and Zayn is busy doing whatever it is that Zayn does. Niall and Liam are sharing a bowl of spaghetti, Liam eating most of the meatballs because he's a "growing boy, Ni, I need the protein!" and they're both fighting with their forks. Niall thinks that it's the perfect opportunity to reenact that one scene from The Lady and The Tramp but then he remembers he really should stop pining after his best mate. 

"Oi! Spaghetti and meatballs! Stop flirtin' and listen to me!" Louis screeches while throwing pieces of breadsticks at them. "What is it, Tommo?" Liam, always patient, asks after he reluctantly puts down his fork. "Have you thought about who you're bringing to prom? It's next week, ya know." 

An awkward silence follows and Niall hates himself for telling Harry about his tiny, minuscule crush on Liam because then Harry told Louis and Louis is the most unsubtle human to ever live. 

"Um, I don't know. Do we have to bring someone?" Niall says because Liam looks like someone just killed his turtle and he couldn't possibly think of an answer to any question, let alone one about prom. Zayn snorts and Harry looks back and forth between Niall and Liam with an extremely concerned look on his face. Harry needs to calm down. Niall is fine. 

"Niall! Prom is, like, the quintessential high school thing. And taking someone is part of that thing!" 

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic, Haz? It's not a big de-"

"Harry is going with me. Zayn is going with Perrie. You two have to bring someone so you're not by yourselves." Louis interjects. 

Niall is getting restless and slightly annoyed so he just huffs and starts eating again, sneaking a few meatballs while Liam isn't looking. He thinks that maybe he could invite Liam. Obviously only as friends because Liam is very much out of Niall's league. He's the captain of the football team and looks like a model 99% of the time and Niall is the keeper and is pale and super skinny. Plus, they've been best mates since they were 4. Niall needs to get over his crush. Move on to much more reasonable prospects, like, someone who is not his incredibly attractive and unreachable best friend. 

Niall's still looking down at the mostly empty plate of spaghetti and meatballs when Liam's fork comes into view and knocks the last meatball off his own fork. 

"I don't know, Nialler, maybe we can just go with each other?" he says around a mouthful of meatball. It should be gross but, like, Niall mostly just wants to lick the sauce out of his mouth. Stop, Niall. Stop thinking about his mouth and focus on the question. 

Once he remembers what Liam actually asked, Niall's eyes practically bulge out of his head and he blushes and drops his fork.

"Well! I, for one, think that is a fantastic idea, Payno!" Louis practically screams. Niall hasn't said anything yet so Liam nudges him and leans in. 

"Is that alright? We don't have to?" 

"Um." 

Liam's face falls. 

"Yes! Yes, I uh, I reckon that'd be alright." 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah, mate." 

Liam just gives him one of those breathtaking smiles where his eyes disappear and his laughter lines take up most of his face. Niall smiles back just as bright. 

Zayn clears his throat and brings Niall back to the real world. Louis and Harry are looking at him like he's their 5-year-old child about to embark on his first day of school. Ridiculous. 

"Sick. Prom's gonna be fuckin awesome, yeah? Wait till you see Pez's dress. Proper Black Widow from Avengers hot, like." 

Niall's happy for the subject change and finishes off the last of the spaghetti. The rest of dinner goes off without incident, but Niall can only remember the heat on his leg where Liam's thigh is resting against his and the way Liam smiled at him when he gave him some of his dessert. 

\---- 

"I look stupid. Harry? Harry, are you listening? I look stu-" 

"Niall. Stop. You look amazing and Liam is totally gonna fall in love with you tonight and you'll live happily ever after. Enough. Help me unbutton this shirt, my mom buttoned it up too high." 

Niall blushes down to his toes and fiddles with the stupid tie Harry just put on him. The last time he wore clothes this nice was for Greg's wedding and he feels a bit uncomfortable. Harry's sister did his hair up into a quiff because Liam said it looked good literally one time and Niall has never forgotten. Niall is hopeless. Before Niall can actually reply and defend himself he feels his phone vibrate against his leg. 

we're hereeeee aha ! 

Niall swallows loudly and relays the information to Harry who is already excitedly opening his door and running to Louis' shitty car they're taking to prom. They all decided as a group that taking a limo would be insanely pretentious and over the top. And also that they're all poor and a limo was too expensive. 

Louis walks out first, running into Harry's arms just like he always does. Zayn and Perrie follow behind, looking insanely attractive and like they both could murder Niall right now and he would probably thank them. And then Liam. Liam looks incredible. His suit is perfectly fitted, showing off his toned arms and broad shoulders. His hair is up in a quiff similar to Niall's. Niall had said that's his favorite hair on Liam a few times, but Niall takes that as a coincidence. Liam is definitely not as hopeless as Niall. 

Liam walks up to Niall with a timid smile and hugs him, he might linger on Niall a little bit longer than normal but Niall tries to ignore that too. 

"Nialler, you look amazing. Really." 

Niall blushes and scuffs his vans on the ground. He thinks there will probably a permanent blush on his face with the way that Liam is looking at him. Like he hung the sun. Like he IS the sun. Niall thinks the same about Liam. 

They're kind of just staring at each other in awe until Louis cuts in between them with a hand on their shoulders. 

"Lads! Save the bedroom eyes for the dance floor! Or at least until there's a little less sunlight, eh? Let's go! It's prom time!" 

Liam just fondly shakes his head, clearly used to Louis' constant prodding and starts walking towards the car again. When he notices Niall's not following he turns around and gives him a small smile. Liam holds out his hand and at first Niall's a little confused as to what he's supposed to do. Like, is Liam really going for a high five right now? But then Liam's hand reaches for Niall's and pulls him towards the car. If Liam doesn't let go of Niall's hand the entire car ride to prom, well, then no one but Niall needs to know about that. 

They arrive at prom and it's absolutely ridiculous and they all love it. The whole night is full of sugary foods and spiked punch (Louis and Zayn snuck a flask in their jackets because "it's all a part of the experience!") and really awful dancing. It's one of the best nights of Niall's life. 

Even though Liam is one of the most popular guys at the school, he doesn't leave Niall's side the whole night. There's always some sort of contact between them. Be it Liam's hand on Niall's lower back or Niall's head resting on Liam's shoulder after a particularly fast song. It's perfect and Niall doesn't want the night to end, doesn't want this little NiallandLiam bubble to burst. But once they announce Prom Royalty will be revealed soon, Niall knows the night is almost over. 

Everyone quiets down and waits for Louis, the school president, to walk up to the stage with two crowns. He clears his throat quite dramatically and begins. 

"Happy Prom everyone!! I hope you've all had a sick time but now it's time for the most important part: prom royalty. While it's obvious me and Harry SHOULD be prom kings, I can't claim the title because I'm president, so I'm sorry to disappoint everyone." 

The whole crowd laughs, Harry harder than anyone for much longer than necessary. Harry and Louis are ridiculous. 

"Anyways, it is with GREAT pleasure I announce your class prom royalty. So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage... two of my best mates, Liam Payne and Niall Horan!" 

Niall feels a spotlight land on him and Liam and he whips his head towards Liam. He heard Liam's name and he's ecstatic for him but. Why is Liam looking at him like that? Why are people smiling and clapping at them? Why is Liam pulling Niall up to the stage saying "c'mon Ni"? 

They arrive to the stage and Niall is still pretty much in the dark until he sees Louis placing a crown on top of Liam's head. Liam's still staring at him with a tentative smile on his face, like he's not sure Niall wants to be there with him. Louis hands the microphone to Liam and walks over to Niall with another crown. 

Louis snaps his fingers directly in front of Niall's face causing Niall to get out of his Liam induced haze. 

"Hey you twat, you just won prom king alongside the love of your god damn life, why do you look like a crazy person? For god's sake Niall get it together!" 

Niall feels the weight of the crown on his head and blinks at Louis. 

"I... what?" he whispers, willing Liam not to hear. 

"I would just like to give a massive thank you to everyone that voted for us. We're so happy and had a lot of fun tonight; this just makes it even better. And..." 

Liam looks over to Niall who is still standing to the side next to Louis. He smiles at Niall and holds out his hand, just like he did before they entered the car. Niall takes it and sidles up to Liam's side. 

"And there is no one in the entire world I would rather be prom king with than Niall. I love you, Ni." 

He says it directly to Niall, and Niall forgets how to breathe. He can hear people applauding in the background and Louis, Harry, and Zayn screaming out "Get in Payno!" but all Niall can see is Liam. There's a timid smile on Liam's face as he pulls Niall towards the edge of the stage. The next thing Niall knows they're in the middle of the dance floor and there's a spotlight on them. The opening chords to Thinking Out Loud play and Liam pulls Niall in close and starts to sway them. 

"You alright?" Liam whispers into Niall's ear, close enough so Niall can hear it over the music. 

Niall pulls back a little and looks into Liam's eyes for any sort of discomfort or regret. All he sees is complete and utter fondness, admiration, and... Love? He's looking at Niall like Louis looks at Harry whenever he tells one of his horrendously long stories. He's looking at Niall like he's in love with him. 

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm great. We won prom kings?" 

Liam laughs and Niall falls a little bit more in love with him. 

"Yeah, Ni, we did. Wicked, yeah?" 

Niall breathes out a sigh of relief and pulls Liam a little bit closer. He hopes Liam can't feel his heart beating out of his chest or the way his hands are sort of kind of shaking maybe a lot. 

Liam starts singing the lyrics softly into Niall's ear. 

"People fall in love in mysterious way, maybe just the touch of a hand. Well, me I fall in love with you every single day..." 

Confetti and balloons start to fall from the ceiling as the rest of the crowd joins Niall and Liam on the dance floor. Niall feels like he's in a movie. Niall feels like he's in love. 

The song is about to end when Liam says, "Hey Ni?" 

Niall pulls back and raises his eyebrows expectantly. 

"I... um. I meant what I said earlier." 

"What? When we were talking about Avengers? Listen, Li, I get that you like Batman but he will NEVER be in The Avengers he's not even a Marvel character so he wouldn't even be in the same universe and -" 

"No, Niall." Liam says with a fond shake of his head.  
"When I said that I love you. That. I meant that." 

"Oh. Yeah. I. I love you too, Li." 

"Yeah?" 

"Course." 

"Good. But Ni? I. I think, like, uh, I think that I'm in love with you? Yeah. I love you, obviously. But like, I'm in love with you. Also. Have been for a while." 

Niall stops swaying immediately and looks up at Liam's big brown eyes. Liam looks terrified but also a little bit relieved and a lot nervous. They're just staring at each other, completely still in the middle of a chaotic swell of people. It's when the song changes into something faster that Niall realizes he hasn't said anything back.

"Ni? I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything it's obvious you don't feel the same way we're best mates I don't know why I-" 

"I'm in love with you too." Niall blurts out, effectively cutting off Liam mid sentence. 

"What? You're... you are?" 

"Don't be daft Liam, of course I'm in love with you. I don't share my food with just anyone." 

A smile starts to slowly form on Liam's face and they come back together and start swaying again, completely off beat but totally in love. They're both hyper aware of every part of their bodies that are touching and there's an energy thrumming around them that's practically palpable. 

Harry and Louis are dancing obnoxiously next to them and bump into them completely on purpose. 

"Why the fuck are you swaying to this song? You don't deserve to be prom kings, you're hopeless!" Louis screams into their ears.

Niall giggles excessively and pulls Liam even closer. 

"I am so in love with you." he says into Liam's neck around more giggles. 

Liam pulls back only enough to kiss Niall through his giggles, murmuring something like "me too" into his lips. 

Niall can hear Louis, Harry, Zayn, and even Perrie screaming "Finally!" in unison through the kiss. He can feel Liam's smile on his lips, Liam's hand under his chin, and the weight of the crown on his own head. 

Liam pulls back a bit and says "To be fair, Batman could totally kick Captain America's ass." 

"You're an idiot. Shut up." Niall says as he leans in to kiss him again. 

Liam laughs into his mouth and Niall thinks that, yeah, maybe he does feel a bit like a king tonight.


End file.
